Automatic train-stopping apparatus



v. WJNYE AND E. M. AMTHOR. AUTOMATIC TRAIN STOPPING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 23, 1919.

1,408,025, r Patented Feb. 28, 1922.

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' .jiZ-Zarrzeys V. W. NYE AND E. M. AMTHOR. AUTOMATIC TRAIN STOPPING APPARATus.

APPLICATION FILED, OCT. 23,1919.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VICTOR NYE AND EDWARD AMTHOR,Z OFEBUE-FALOQNEW YOB-K.

nn-Torranc-rnArN-srorrme Arrnnn'wsl Specification of Letters Fatent.

, Application -fi.1ed,0etober-23, 1919. *SeriaLNo. 332,660.

To -.aill;whom it may concern *Be it known that we, Vro'ron WV. NYE and ED ARD M. Aiurnon, citizens oftGanada and the United States, respectively, residing at Buffalo, in the county 1 of ErieandState of New York, have invented anew and useful Improvements in. Automatic Trainrstopping Apparatus, of which. thefollowing. is a specification. g I

', This invention relates. to a ,train stopping appara'tus :which ;.automatically stops .the train in case. the engineer failsto heed the customary semaphore signals.

One of the objects: of. the invention is .to produce r2111 .apparatus of this vcl1ai,"a-cter which will -etiec-tively .apply: the air brakes of e the :trainand at i the same ti me shut off the steam or other .motive power of the engine. 1

Aniurther object is to provide reliable eleotrieally,controlled tripsmechanism operate'dby' the usual semaphore arm controlled from the switch tower, in such a manner that saidwtrip .mechanism -is ,moved to its operativeposition when the signal arm is extended to,dangenposition.

.Astill furtherohject is ,to provide imr.oved automatic--.nieans for shutting off the motive; power. of. the engine When'thev air is released in the. usual bnzikesystem :forv applyin the brakes.

. Another obj set, is to prod nee an. apparatus of lthis character which is simple in construction and gefiicient in loperation and ,in

\ vhichI the. controls devices carriedby the engine are-.- capable-of installation on engines now in-use and the trip mechanism isapplicable. to the custom ary;semaphore arms with-- out changing atheir construction.

.In theaccompanying drawings V l igurel -is a fdigiammatic perspective view of the improved. train stop apparatus. Figure 2 is aasideelevation of a steam locomotive y equipped with the improvement. Figure. 8 :is an; enlarged sectional elevation oi the control switches.associated with the trip-mechanism. Figure is vertical sec tion on line el l, Fig. 5. Figure 5 is va iragn'lentary sectional elevation of the triparm and associated parts. :Figure 6 is a longitudinal section of the steam cheek valve. Figure l is a. longitudinal section. of a switch block, showing a.- moditied form. of spring for normally closing the switch. Figure dis. a. plan view of said spring.

Similarcharacters of reference indicate toobservethe signal.

corresponding parts throughout .the severalv views.

In. its general organiz ation, this apparatus comprisesua trip arm controlled electrically by the danger signal or semaphore and adapted to proj eetinto ,the, path of a. tappet or armon ,a locomotive toirelease ,theair of' thebrake system to automatically apply the 'bra-kesand shut oif the motive power of the engine, should .the semaphore .arm be 111 [danger POSltlOIl and I the engineer Tflfail jR-eferring more particularly tof Fig. 1 the drawings, 10 represents a 1 portion of signal mast of. the: usual form, on ,the upper end of which is.pivotedthesignallor semaphorearm 11 oflany welliknown-type; ,This arm controlled from the. switch towel-in the usual manner, andas showninithedrawings, is set in a horizontal position 1indi-' eating danger. Mounted on the signal; mast, preferably Elie-low .the semaphore arm, is ,a vertically movable knife switch 12 operatively connected [to the semaphore arm 1 by a. link 13 pivoted, ,at' its. opposite ends ,to the switch and semaphore arm. pivoted to the terminal posts 14: and is adapted to co-operate with upperantllower sets of terminals or contacts ,15, 16. respectively. The knife switch 1.2 is controlled directlybythe semaphore arm ll and when the latter is in its-horizontal. or danger position, the switch lo'la,cles engage-the upp'er setofcontacts15, while when'the armis'in' 1ts pendant or clea'r,;.pos ition, v, they engage the lower set of; contacts inianfobvious\manner. The ;terminal posts 14 of-the switch are jincluded in .a battery circuit 17', while the upper andlower sets;of-contacts 15,116 areincluded in amotor circuit l8 which'will presently be ,"describ'ed.

.19 indicates a switchblock orsupport on which are mounted two auxiliary switches 20,21,\preferably oft-he knife type, which are. included inthe motor circuit and adaptedto'break or interrupt the same while the main control switchl2is adaptedto establish the. circuit. The switch {20 is provided with front and rear terminals22, v23, while the switch '21 is ,provided with :front and rear terminals 2%, .25, respectively. The arms of these switches 'are preferably mounted "for .vertic-ally swinging .movement on. the .hlock 19 and {are normally ,hel'd closed by springs26 falst'enedat their lower ends to the adjacent part of the support- This switch is passing trains, as shown in Fig. 1, while in ing member 27 of the switch block and at their upper ends to the operating levers 28 of the said switches. The latter are adapted to be opened at different intervals by tioned shaft at a comparatively slow speed.

i Arranged adjacent the signalmast 10 and loosely mounted on the shaft 31 is a trip device or arm 36 which in its operative posi- 7 n p l flts hOrizontally into the path "of its inoperative position, it is inclined out of the path of passing trains. This trip de' vice is positively raised to its upper or in:

operative position by a coupling device cooperating therewith and operated by the rotary shaft 31 when the semaphore arm is moved to its clear position, while said trip device is adapted to be released from the coupling mechanism when thesemaphore arm is moved to its danger position and to drop by gravity to its horizontal position,

as shown in Fig. 1. This coupling and releasing mechanism is preferably constructed as follows;

Keyed to the rotary shaft 31is a trip wheel 37 having a tooth 38 which is adapted to engage a pin 39 carried by the trip arm 36. This arm is free to slide laterally on its 7 shaft but'in its normal operative position its hub is adapted to bear against the hub of the trip wheel 37, in which position the pin 39 is in the circumferentialpath of the tooth of said wheel, as shown in Fig. 5. Then the shaft 31 is rotated, the tooth of the trip wheel 37 engages the pin 39 of the trip arm and raises the same to its inclined inoperative position, as shown 2 by dotted lines in Fig. 4, at which time the'trip wheel is' arrested owing to the motor 33 being stopped by the breaking of the circuit at the auxiliary switch 21. Arranged in the oath of movement of the trip arm and preferably vertically above theaxisof the shaft 31 is a fixed ram 410 suitably secured to the adjacent bearing 32 of said shaft and having, an inclined face 4&1, as clearly shown in Figs. 1' and 5. The purpose of this cam is to withdraw the pin 39 carried bythe trip arm from engagement with the tooth of the trip wheel 37 at a predetermined point in the movement of said arm. After reaching-this point, the trip arm is allowed to drop for- V i The gearing be tween the motor shaft 35 and the shaft 31 is reduced sufficiently to drive the last-menwheel under the pressure of a spring 41 surrounding the shaft 31' and hearing at. one end against .the hub of the trip arm and at its opposite end against a collar 42 fixed to saidshaft; By this arrangement the pin of the trip arm constantly projects into the path of rotation of the trip wheel while the trip arm is in its operative position. To limitthe movement of the trip arm below its operative horizontalposition, a'suitable stop 43 is arranged on the adjacent part of thesi'gnal mast 10. 1

If'desired, said trip arm may be provided with an extension 36 adjustably carried'by it to lengthen orshorten it to suit varying conditions. 'This adjustment may be effected by one or more set'screws 36 or other suitable means." i

'lVhen the semaphore arm is moved from the clear position to the horizontal danger position, shown in Fig. 1, the current flows from the positive pole of the battery through a blade of the switch 12 to the cor responding upper terminal thereof and thence through the motor circuit 18 to the auxiliary switch 20 which is now closed. From the latter, the current flows through the nioto-r and completes the 'oircuit back through the auxiliary switch andthe main switch and thence to the negative pole of the battery. This closing of the circuit through the auxiliary switch 20 starts the motor which in turn rotates'the shaft 31 in a counter-clockwise direction through the train of gearing 34. The trip arm 36, which at the beginning of this operation was in its upward or clear position, is carried further upwardly through the medium of the pin 39 and rotating trip wheel 37 against the inclinedface 41 of the fixed cam 40 which deflects said trip arm laterally, disengaging the shaft 31 continues until the cam lever- During the rotation of the shaft, the trip wheel is rotated and carries the trip arm 36 upwardly to a predetermined point, at which time the ca m lever 30 opens the auxiliary switch 21, breaking the circuit-and stopping the motor. The trip arm is held in its in clined inoperative position by the engagement"; of its pin with the tooth of the trip wheel 37 I a It will lee-understood from the-foregoing,-

that the mains'witch 12 controlled by the semaphore' arm is utilized for establishing the motor circuit, while the two auxiliary switches serve to break the motor circuit and thereby control the position- 0f the trip arm 36'.

The means located on the locomotive whereby the air brakes automatically applied and the motive power shut off should theengine'er. fail to observe the danger signal, are preferably constructed as follows:

Referring more particularly to Fig. 2, 45 representsa lo'com'otive of any well hn'own type provided with the usual steam pipe 46,

dry jpipe 4L7 throttle-stand pipe 48 and throttle valve casing-'49 in whichis located the customary throttle valve. Interposed between the steam pipe 46 -and the dry pipe 47 is asuitable emergency engine stop valve 50. Arranged in the easing 50 ofthis valve is a c'heck valve- 51 whichis adapted to swing in the" direction ofjth'e pressure 'of" the steampassingtherethrough. This valve is preferably inthe-fori'n of a disk and is carried by ahorizontaI-shait 52 which eX- tends through a-stu'ifing box to the outside of the valve. A bell crank lever 53 is attac'hedat the outer end ofthis shaft 'for controlling the opening and closing of the check valve; hen the eng'ine is. running, the valve ai'itoi i iatieally held open by a locking -device whichis preferably operated in conjunction with the air brake system of the tra'i'ii, said device beingreleased to allow the check valve to close and-shut off the supply of-steam-to the engine when the-air brakes.

are automatically applied in case the engineer fails to heed the semaphore signal. The preferred means for accomplishing this result "comprise a -cylinder or casing- 54: which communicates with an air valve 55, forming part of' the air brake I system,

through the medium of-a pi e 56. Arranged in this cylinder isa vertically movable piston 5'7'whichis actuate'dfby air pressure releasechfrom the brake system when said valve is set for applying the brakes. The

stem 58 ofthe piston projects above the top of the cylinder and carries at its upper'end a detent orlocking arm 59 which is nornially adapted to engage a socket or depres- 'sion 6O in the upper end of the vertical arm of-the lever 53 and thereby hold the check valve open, as shown in Fig. 6. A spring 61 surrounding the stem of the piston and arranged between the top of the cylinder and; a' collar 62 on said stem serves to normally keep the arm 59 in engagemel'it with the lever 53. Aweight 63 is provided on the horizontal arm of the lever 53 which causes the valve 51 to swing into the path of the steam and be closed thereby, when the arm 59 is released from saidlever in a manner previously described. To reset the valve after the'same has been closed, aby

' pass 64 is providedin the valve casing, whichooin'mun-icates with the inlet and outlet sides of said valve, so as to equalize the pressure on both sides of the latter. This by-pass is controlled by an equalizing valve 65, which is operated manually from the cab of the the engine cab by a'pull cord 7 0 fastened to an arm 71 of the lever 53, thereby raising the lever and opening said valve. After the valve has been reset and' he'ld in its open position by the locking arm 59 engaging the bell crank lever'53, the equalizer valve is closed.

The air valve' 55,for effecting the appliea tion of the brakes of the train and-for automatically shuttingoff the motive power of thelocomotive, is opened by means of a horizontally arranged tappet-72 rigidly secured to the vertical stem 7 3 of theair valve and arranged in the path ofthe trip arm 36. The I tappet, upon coming in contact with the fixed trip arm is tripped and turned rearwardly,

causing the air valve to open. This opening of the air valve releases the air in the brake system, admitting air to the cylinder 54: raisingthe piston therein and releasing the detent from the valve controlling lever and allowing the check-valve to close. The

air valve is returnedto its normal position J by a manually controlled lever Msecured-to its stem and located conveniently in'the cab. The operation ofth e device is as follows: Assume the sempahore signal arm to 'be swung fromits pendant or clear position to its horizontal or danger. position, bythe operator in the signal tower. The switch 12 controlled by the movement of thesemaphore arm issimultaneously swung from the lower set of contacts 16 to the upper setof contacts 15, establishing the motor circuit 18 through the auxiliary switch 20 which "at: this time is closed, While the auxiliaryswitch 21 is held open by the trip lever-30,q

the rotary shaft 31 having been stopped by the opening of said last mentioned switch during the movement of the semaphore arm to itsclear position. In this position of the semaphore signal, the trip arm 36 is held in its raisedor inoperative position by theengagement of its pin 39 with the tooth 38 0f the trip wheel 37'. The instant the circuit is established by the switch 12, the circuit is closed through the auxiliary switch 20, whereupon the motor is started and the trip arm allowed to drop to its operative position, as hereinbefore described. .By the continued rotation of the shaft .31, the trip lever 29 engages the operating lever 28 of the auxiliary switch 20 and opens the same, thereby breaking the -motor circuit, stopping the motor and leaving .the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1. passes the signal block, the tappet 7 2 will be tripped rearwardly by the trip arm 36 arranged in the path of said tappet arm, opening the air valve 55 and applying the brakes. This opening of the air valve also actuates the piston 57, releasing the check valve lever, causing the check valve to close and shut off thesteam from the engine pipe. Upon observing that the train has been automatically checked, the engineer closes the throttle. To restore theparts, the engineer closes the air valve 55 by means of the con.,

trol lever 7 4L and then opens the steam control check valve 51 by first opening the equalizer valve 65, after which he resets the check valve by pulling the cord to lock the same in its open position.

In Figs. 7 and 8 is shown a modified form of spring used in connection with the auxiliary switches to hold them normally in their closed position. This spring is of the leaf type, one end of which-is fixed to the switch platform 19, whilethe 'free end is provided with a longitudinal slot/76 which is adapted to engage the shank of a screw 7 7 carried by the operatinglever 28. v

While we have herein illustrated and described our invention in connection with a steam locomotive, it is to be understood that the controlling machanism canbe as readily applied to locomotives operated either by an internal combustion engine or by electrical power, without materially changing the ar rangement and construction thereof.

WVe claim as our invention: 1. In an automatic traln stopping apparatus, the combination with a locomotive having an accessory to be actuated, of a semaphore arm, an electric circuit, a motor in said circuit, a rotary member operated by said motor, a trip device arranged directly on said rotary member, a switch in said cir cuit controlled bythe semaphore arm and co-operating with two sets of terminals included in said circuit, means in said circuit controlled by said rotary member for controlling the movements of said trip device,

and means on the locomotive arranged. to be tripped by said trip device for actuating said accessory. i i

2. In an automatic train-stopping apparatus,'the combination with a locomotive hav-' ing an accessory to be actuated, of a semaphore arm, an electric circuit, a motor in said.

As the oncoming train circuit, means on said rotary shaft for opening said auxiliary switches to control the position of said trip device, and means on the locomotive arranged to be tripped by said trip device for actuating said accessory.

3. In an automatic train-stopping .apparatns, the combination with a locomotive having an accessory to be actuated, of a semaphore arm, an electric circuit, a motor. in

said circuit,-a shaft rotatable by said motor, a trip deviceloosely arrangedon said shaft, means on saidfishaft for ositively raising said trip device, a main switch for establishing the .motor circuit controlled by said semaphore arm and co-operating with two sets of terminalsfincluded in said circuit, a pair of aux-iliaryswitches included in said ing said last-mentioned switches .to break the circuit to control the position of said trip device, and meanson the locomotive arranged to be tripped by the trip device foractuating said accessory. 3

4. In an automatic train-stopping apparatus, the combination with a locomotive having anaccessoryto be actuated, ,of'a semaphore arm, an electric circuit, a motor in said circuit, a shaft-rotatable by said motor, a trip device'mounted on said shaft, a main switch for establishing the motor circuit controlled by said semaphore .arm, a pair of auxiliaryv switches included in. said circuit and normally closed, cam levers carried by the rotary shaft and adapted to open said -auxiliarv switches, means operated by said shaft during a port1on ofits revolution for raising said trip device to its inoperative position, means for returning said trip. device -to-its operative position during the remaining portion of the revolution of said shaft,'and means on the locomotive arranged :to be tripped by the trip device for. actuatingsaid accessory.

In" an automatic.train-stopping ap paratus, the combination with a locomotive having 'an a'ccessory to be actuated, ofa' semaphore arm, an electric circuit,a motor in said circuit, a .shaftrotatable .bysaid 12 motor, a main switch for establishing the motor circuit controlled by said semaphore arm, a pair of auxiliary normally-closed switches included in said circuit, cam leverscarried. by the rotary shaftfor opening. said auxiliary switches at diii'erent times during the revolution of said shaft, atrip'device loosely mounted on said shaft, ,a couplingdevice rigidly mounted on the latter and co-operating the trip device to raise the same during a portion of the revolution of said shaft, means for returning said trip device to its operative position during the remaining portion of the revolution of said shaft, and means on the locomotive arranged to be tripped by the trip device for actuating said accessory.

6. In an automatic train-stopping apparatus, the combination with a locomotive having an accessory to be actuated, of a semaphore arm, an electric circuit, a motor in said circuit, a shaft rotatable by the motor, a trip device loosely mounted on said shaft, a main switch for establishing the motor circuit controlled'by said semaphore arm, a pair of auxiliary normally-closed switches included in said circuit, cam levers carried by the rotary shaft and adapted to open said auxiliary switches at'diiferent intervals during the revolution of said shaft, a coupling device mounted on the latter and co-operating with the trip device to raise the same, a cam for disengaging the trip device from said coupling device when the semaphore signal is moved to danger position, and means on the locomotive arranged to be tripped by the trip device for actuating said accessory.

'7. In an automatic train-stopping apparatus,.the combination with a locomotive having an accessory to be actuated, of a semaphore arm, an electric circuit, a motor in said circuit, a shaft rotatable by said motor, a trip device arranged on said shaft, a main switch for establishing the motor circuit controlled by said semaphore arm, a pair of-auxiliary switches included in said circuit, means on the rotary shaft for opening said auxiliary switches at different in tervals during the revolution of said shaft, means for moving the trip device into and out ofoperative position, and means on the locomotive arranged to be tripped by the trip device for actuating said accessory.

8. In an automatic train-stopping apparatus, the combination with a locomotive having an accessory to be actuated, of a semaphore arm, an electric circuit, a motor in said circuit, a main switch for establishing the motor circuit controlled by the semaphore arm, a trip device, means controlled by said motor for moving said trip device into and out of operative position, a pair of auxiliary normally-closed switches included in said circuit, means controlled by said motor for opening said switches, and means on the locomotive arranged to be tripped by the trip device for actuating said accessory.-

9.111 an automatic train-stopping apparatus, the combination with a locomotive having an accessory to be actuated, of a semaphore arm, an electric circuit, a motor in said circuit, a shaft rotatable by said motor, a main switch for establishing the motor circuit controlled by said semaphore arm, a pair of auxiliary normally-closed switches included in said circuit, cam levers carried by the rotary shaft for opening said auxiliary switches at different times during the revolution of said shaft, a trip device loosely mounted on said shaft, a trip wheel rotatable with said shaft and having a tooth for engaging said trip device to elevate the same, and means on the locomotive arranged to be tripped by the trip device foractuating said accessory.

10. In an automatic train-stopping apparatus, the combination with a locomotive having .an accessory to be actuated, of a semaphore arm, an electric circuit, a motor in said circuit, a shaft rotatable by said motor, a main switch for establishing the motor circuit controlled by said semaphore arm, a pair of auxiliary normally-closed switches included insaid circuit, cam levers carried by the rotary shaft for opening said auxiliary switches at different times during the revolution of said shaft, a trip device loosely mounted on said shaft and laterally movable thereon, a trip wheel rotatable with said shaft and having a tooth, said trip device having a projection arranged to be encountered by said tooth to elevate the device, a cam for shifting the projection of the trip device out of engagement with said trip wheel when the trip device is elevated to a predetermined point, and a spring for shifting the trip device toward said trip wheel, and means on the locomotive arranged to be tripped by the trip device for actuating said accessory. I

VICTOR w. NYE. EDWARD M. 'AMTHOR. 

